“Water water!”.
At around noon, London removes the previous day’s lantern – pleasant 25 degrees and clear skies, an illusion – and returns the original scene, the essence: the clouds discharge and spray, the wind stirs the treetops, squirrels and foxes They hide and the umbrellas open like poppies in the 19th district, so Carlos Alcaraz and his team have to quickly leave the training tracks to take cover and adapt to the harsh British weather; not without my rain, motto of a tournament that starts today (2:30 p.m., Movistar+) with…
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“Water! Water!”.
At midday, London takes down the lantern from the previous day – a pleasant 25 degrees and a clear sky, an illusion – and returns to the original setting, the essence: the clouds rain and spray, the wind stirs the treetops, squirrels and foxes hide and umbrellas open like poppies in the 19th district, so that Carlos Alcaraz and his team have to rush off the training courts to take cover and adapt to the harsh British climate; not without my rain, the motto of a tournament that starts today (14.30, Movistar+) with the Murcian as the deserved protagonist of the opening, while last year he triumphed for the first time and tradition now gives him the privilege of opening the wonderful centre court. He will be against Mark Lajal, an Estonian in his fifth year (2003, 21 years old), 262nd in the world.
“Maybe they consider me more of a favorite than last year, but I try to take it differently; In the end I lost at Queen’s [preparatorio]and that shows you how difficult it is to play here, on grass, to move well, to realise how to act… Anything can happen,” he concedes with foresight, aware of the difficulty of mastering a register that has historically resisted so many figures, and that the story of his sport only offers a few exceptions. In the men’s territory, only four players have linked success at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year: an alien called Björn Borg (1978, 1979 and 1980), Rafael Nadal (2008 and 2010), Roger Federer (2009) and Novak Djokovic (2021). In the women’s category, the books reflect from the Open Era (1968) onwards to Margaret Court (1970), Evonne Goolagong (1971), Billie Jean King (1972), Chris Evert (1974), Martina Navratilova (1982 and 1984), Steffi Graf (1988, 1993, 1995 and 1996) and Serena Williams (2002 and 2015).
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From the earth to the grass, two elements so antagonistic and so different. The hellish transition. Little margin (three weeks, previously two) to reformulate and adapt the automation. Nothing to see. The vast majority were lost along the way. “It is the fastest surface change, but you have to accept it,” points out number one, Iga Swiatek, an earthling by race who has also managed to unravel the flat code of cement; Not so that of the grass, especially unique, demanding, more treacherous than any other. “It’s very complicated, mentally you have to approach it in a different way. Here we make more mistakes, the ball is lower and goes super fast; It is more important to do well with the first ones. I want to learn to play here,” continues the Pole, who is resisted, for the moment, by a terrain that does not admit doubt or hesitation, no matter how much the debate has lost weight on the Internet to gain it in the funds.
Swiatek, in a match in the 2023 edition. Andrew Couldridge (REUTERS)
Nadal himself, for example, had a hard time unraveling the mystery. A two-time champion of the English Grand Slam, the Spaniard did not really manage to control the game on grass until he reached his thirties. This is also confirmed by Garbiñe Muguruza, champion in 2017. After reaching the top, he failed to make it past the third round in the four subsequent editions, and the surprise in 2016 in Paris was followed by a fall in the second round in London.
On the progress
“Very few players have a good slice these days,” laments Navratilova, the queen of the slice and the net-goal. Meanwhile, more and more players continue to fade away on a surface that has been losing its presence – it disappeared in Australia and New York – until it is reduced to a single month of the calendar. Improvisation and adaptation on the fly therefore predominate, and with the exception of Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the majority of professionals end up run over by the ball, if not tripped over by slips. Asturian Pablo Carreño knows this well, a seasoned competitor on sand and cement; unrecognisable on the green. Seven participations in Wimledon, seven first rounds.
“I watch videos of what I did last year, I’m not going to lie. I do it to see how I did it,” Alcaraz transmits. “We have to be faithful to our style of play on any surface, although on grass the movement changes a lot. I am a player who normally slides a lot, but here there are others who do it as if it were dirt and I still don’t dare. It is a big change for me. Mobility, being more crouched, not getting up, being focused on every step you take… Grass is details. You have to be focused on every maneuver,” closes the Spaniard, who would follow in the footsteps of Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Federer and Djokovic if he manages to retain the title in La Catedral. Complicated, there is no doubt.
Difficult to make predictions in a framework devoted to surprise. To the complexity of the record, Alcaraz must add for the second time in his career – the previous one occurred at the US Open in New York last year – the management of extra pressure due to the status achieved in the previous edition; Djokovic trusts in a positive response from his knee, but logically without any certainty; and Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev appear as alternatives, both aware that a trap is waiting around the corner. Meanwhile, in the women’s team the unknowns are even more abundant. Undeniable on dirt, Swiatek has never crossed the barrier of the quarterfinals and the record underlines the ungovernability after Serena’s departure: six different winners in the last six events.
Indeed, this is Wimbledon. Another law.
MURRAY RUSHES THE OPTION TO PLAY
A. C. | Londres
Just over a week ago, nine days to be exact, Andy Murray underwent surgery for a spinal cyst. Some media in England and the ATP had ruled out his presence at Wimbledon. However, the 37-year-old Scot is looking forward to saying goodbye to the tournament he won twice (2013 and 2016).
“What I’m simply looking for is to play one last time here. I want to have one last chance to feel the adrenaline of the plant,” he conceded to reporters on Sunday. The Scot wants to say goodbye to London before a last dance at the Paris Games, the final stage of a journey that goes back to 2005 to find the starting point in the elite.
Murray’s name is in the picture for now. On Tuesday he would play against Tomas Machac, but everything is at the expense of a last test that he will carry out this Monday. He will try to play the singles and, if he cannot do so, perhaps he will opt for the doubles modality, with the help of his brother Jamie.
“Every day that passes it seems more likely that I will be able to play,” he said optimistically. “But right now it is impossible to confirm anything. I would like to go out and play at a level that I am happy with; I don’t want to be in a situation like the one at Queen’s.” [donde abandonó]”I don’t want to go out on the track and feel like a stranger, unable to be competitive,” he concluded.
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2024-07-01 03:15:00
#Wimbledon #dirt #grass #hellish #transition #tennis #Tennis #Sports
